The agriculture sector is the largest source of livelihood in India. The country is one of the largest producers of agriculture and food products in the world. In 2021-22, India’s agriculture sector growth rate was estimated to be at 3.9% as compared to the 3.6% in the previous year. The country produces many crops and food grains such as rice, wheat, pulses, oil seeds, coffee, jute, sugarcane, tea, tobacco, ground nuts, dairy products, fruits, etc.
During 2020-21, India’s tea production stood at 1,280 million kg. Coffee production during the same period was 354 million kg, a 19% YoY in crease. During 2021-22, oilseeds production of India crossed the estimated 37.15 million tonnes while other products such as rice, wheat, maize, pulses, mustard, and sugarcane reached a record high production.
The top crops producing states in India are West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Gujarat, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Assam, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Chhattisgarh. Most of the wheat produced in the country comes from Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Bihar and Gujarat. Uttar Pradesh is the largest producer of sugarcane in India contributing about 48%, followed by Maharashtra and Karnataka at 23% and 9% of the total production respectively.
India is one of the largest agricultural product exporters in the world. During 2021-22, the country recorded US$ 49.6 billion in total agriculture exports with a 20% increase from US$ 41.3 billion in 2020-21. India’s agriculture sector primarily exports agri & allied products, marine products, plantation, and textile & allied products. Agri & allied products exports were valued at US$ 37.3 billion, recording a growth of 17% over 2020-21.
Rice is the largest exported agricultural product from India and contributed to more than 19% of the total agriculture export during the year 2021-22. Sugar, nd spices are among the largest exported products with the contribution of 9%, 8% and 7% to 2021-22 agriculture exports respectively. Wheat exports were valued at US$ 2.1 billion in 2021-22 after recording significant growth over exports of US$ 568 million in 2021-22. Coffee exports have crossed US$ 1 billion for the first time, which has improved realizations for coffee growers in Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Higher exports of marine products, at US$ 7.7 billion, is benefitting farmers in the coastal states of West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Maharashtra and Gujarat.
The government’s commitment to increase farmers‟ income can be seen through significant rise witnessed in Agri-exports through giving thrust on boosting exports. Various initiatives taken by the government through APEDA such as organizing B2B exhibitions in different countries, exploring new potential markets through product specific and general marketing campaigns have worked as catalyst to growth exports. The government of India has created products matrix for 50 agricultural products with strong export potential and recognized 220 labs to provide services of testing a wide range of products to enable exporters across India.
“As the ‘land of spices’, India exports tons of various kinds of food. In fact, food export from India is a major source of revenue. To help your products reach to even the farthest corners of the world, GWI offers you various types of food export as well as spices export from India. Being among the leading food export companies in India, we ensure our services conform to international quality standards.”